Away For Christmas
by countingeverysecondoftheday
Summary: Ally is heartbroken, and the last thing she needs is to be surrounded by loved-up couples during what is meant to be the happiest time in the year - she just needs to get away for Christmas. So, she leaves town to spend the festive period in a small lodge, where the owners' son may just be able to make her memories of this Christmas better. Auslly. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! It's officially December, which means it's officially Christmas season! And what better way to begin the Christmas celebrations than with this, the first chapter of my new Christmas story?**

 **All being well, chapters of this story should be uploaded every single Thursday, Saturday and Monday!**

 **I know this story doesn't really have a very creative name but just go with it :D And feel free to put suggestions for a better name in a review!**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this new story, and if you do then please let me know with a review!  
**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 _ **Chapter One**_

 _Ally's POV_

"W-what do you mean it's over?" I asked as I looked up at my boyfriend – or seemingly ex-boyfriend – with the tears starting to gently run down my face.

It's a cold December night, around 7pm, in Miami and I'm stood with the man I love outside our favourite café in the suburbs.

"I mean exactly that, Ally. I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling it anymore." He replies, with a shrug of his shoulders – he doesn't even seem to care!

"You're not _feeling_ it anymore?" I shout, outraged. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? You told me yesterday that you loved me!"

"Yeah… but that was yesterday." He continues nonchalantly. "Things change, babe."

Even more anger floods through my system at this. "Don't you _dare_ call me 'babe'!" I shout, slapping away his arm that was rising towards my shoulder. The anger I was feeling suddenly breaks into overwhelming sadness as the tears continue to stream out of my eyes and fall to the sidewalk like a waterfall. "How can you be so heartless? What happened?"

His face scrunched up in confusion. "What are you on about?"

I let out a disbelieving chuckle at how idiotic the man in front of me now seems. "All those times you said you loved me, and I returned it, all those times you said I was the best thing that ever happened to you, that you could never be with anyone but me, what about them? Were they all lies?"

"No, I meant all of those things. I just… don't feel like that anymore." He says it so casually, as if he hasn't just broken a girl's heart into a million pieces.

"Two years we've been together! Two years of my life I have dedicated to you and our relationship! I could have gone to college, you know, the _only_ reason I stayed in Miami was because _you_ didn't want me to go!"

This is true. I'm 19 now, nearly twenty, and at the end of high school my dream had always been to study music at college, but instead I decided to stay in Miami and just help my Dad at his music store instead, just so we wouldn't have to break up or attempt an inevitably-doomed long-distance relationship. I'd never thought twice about this decision, I always thought it was the best, I was _happy_. Now I'm starting to think that was the worst decision I've ever made.

"I just don't understand why you're throwing everything we have away." I said more quietly, breaking the eye contact to look at the increasingly damp sidewalk.

"I'm sorry, Ally." He replies in a soft voice that is in no way comforting to me. "Bye." Is all he says before he turns and walks casually away, seemingly completely unaffected by the fact he's just dumped me. Never have I felt so _worthless_.

"Goodbye, Dallas." I whisper, before turning myself and walking in the opposite direction.

It's December, which means only one thing: Christmas is everywhere. There's no escaping it. Lights and decorations are everywhere in the Miami streets, Christmas tunes on a constant repeat in every shop, bar and restaurant, and the supposed "festive cheer" a constant pressure to make people feel happy.

I had never really experienced feeling truly lonely at Christmas time, but now I was suddenly feeling it, the weight of it crashing down on me like a nuclear bomb the minute Dallas opened his mouth to end our relationship.

I love Christmas, I genuinely do, it's my favourite time of year. But now all of a sudden, it just makes me feel… isolated. As I continue to walk with tears still running down my face, I somehow found myself completely surrounded by couples, happily chatting away as they walk along together, shopping for gifts for each other and their other relatives and friends. Just yesterday that was Dallas and I, but now…

I realise at this point that the last thing I need right now is to be on my own, that's just going to make me feel even worse (if that's physically possible right now).

I could call my Dad, I mean he knows better than anyone how painful it is to lose someone you love, but I just need to be with my best friend right now, so I instead pull out my phone and call Trish. She's been my best friend since elementary school and we tell each other everything. She answers on the second ring. "Hello?" Comes her familiar voice.

"Hey Trish." I say, trying not to sound pathetically sad even though that's how I feel inside.

"Oh hey Als." She replies upbeat. "Aren't you meant to be on a date with Dallas right now?" She asks, confused.

"Yeah, but h-'' Is all I can manage to get out before I start full-out sobbing again.

"Ally?" Trish responds, concern evident in her voice. "Are you okay? What's going on?" My best friend's concern is strangely reassuring to me and makes me feel like I'm not completely alone.

"Trish, I'm okay… look, I'm on my way to yours now, I'll tell you everything when I get there, yeah?" I say as I continue to walk with my head down.

"Sure Als, just get here as soon as you can."

"Will do Trish, be there in like 10." I say before hanging up and shoving my phone back into the pocket of my skinny jeans.

12 minutes later I'm knocking on Trish's apartment door, and in less than three seconds it is flung open and I am immediately pulled into a huge hug from my best friend, which causes me to let out a surprised giggle.

"Whatever's happened, I'm hugging you now because I can tell you just need it." She says as she continues to hold me in a near death lock which I gratefully return.

"Thanks Trish." I say, eventually pulling away from her arms and walking over to sit on her couch. She joins me and we turn to sit facing each other.

"So, come on chica, what's happened?" She asks.

I open my mouth to answer but when I try to say it everything just hits me again and the tears start to flow. Trish goes to tell me that I don't have to say anything, but I cut her off. I _have_ to say it, that's the first step towards getting over him. "D-Dallas d-dumped me, Trish." I say, head down again.

Trish mutters some Spanish curse words that I've heard her use before but have no clue what they mean, before pulling me back into another big hug.

After a couple of minutes she pulled back and got up, saying "I'll go get the ice cream" whilst walking into her kitchen, which managed to bring a small smile to my face along with a giggle.

She returned into the living room a minute later with two _huge_ tubs of Fruity Mint Swirl, my favourite ice cream. "I've kept these as emergency supplies for exactly this situation since you started dating him." Trish explained with a smirk, which got another giggle out of me. "So, you want to tell me exactly what happened?" She asked as we both began to dig into the ice cream with the spoons she had also picked up.

I nodded and went on to recount the details of what had happened to her.

Ten minutes and _a lot_ of tears and tissues later, I was done explaining how Dallas had essentially dropped me like a hot potato.

"Thaaaaaat asshole!" Trish hissed menacingly with narrowed eyes. "I swear to God when I get my hands on that boy-''

"No Trish!" I cut her off. " Please don't call him out, it's just gonna make everything worse. Now I just want to try and move on and get past this as fast as I can." I explain, and I see Trish relax slightly, but also a hint of disappointment in her eyes – let's just say Trish has never really been afraid of confrontation.

"Okay, I won't kill him." She sighs. "But it is _so_ tempting."

I giggle. "I know it is, Trish. Thanks for being so supportive."

"You know it chica!" She replies. "Plus it's Christmas! No one, least of all my amazing best friend should be sad on their own at this time of year."

At this point I have an idea. "But that's the thing. At Christmas I'm always surrounded by people… but I don't _want_ that this year, it will just make me remember everything. I kinda want to be on my own, you know?" I explain.

"I get it." Trish replies, nodding. "So what're you gonna do? You can't stay at home alone for the entire month."

"Maybe I should go away for a while. Just leave town, go somewhere small, quiet and cozy. Just have some alone time." I say, liking the idea more and more.

"But where would you go?" She asks.

"That's what I don't know." I reply, looking back down at my nails. "I can't go too far away…"

We both sat there for a couple of minutes, thinking, before Trish snapped her fingers and triumphantly announced "I've got it!"

"What?" I ask, eager to hear her idea.

"Well remember when Dez moved away?" Dez is Trish's ex, who was my friend too during high school, but he moved away at the end of junior year. He and Trish managed to keep their relationship going for a few months but eventually the distance just forced them apart. Luckily, they ended on reasonably good terms.

Dez moved to Palm Bay, Florida, just south-west of Orlando on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Not a million miles from Miami, but much quieter. "Yeah…?" I answer.

"Well he got in touch with me a couple of months ago and mentioned that one of his new friends' parents own a little lodge there, I think he suggested that we could go visit him sometime. Ally, this is your chance! Go to Palm Bay over Christmas!" She encouraged.

I liked that idea, I liked it a lot, and a huge smile spread on my face. "Okay. I'll give Dez a call." I say.

"Do it girl!" Trish said, getting up to go and chuck out the now empty ice cream pots.

I pull out my cell phone. _'No time like the present…'_ I think. I find the contact I'm looking for and hit dial, and a few seconds later I hear the familiar voice of my redhead friend.

"Hey Dez, it's Ally. I'm coming to visit you."

. . . . .

 **That's it! The first chapter of Away For Christmas!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! Thanks for all the positive reviews on the first chapter, I'm glad you all enjoyed it so much!**

 **So Ally is now trying to get over Dallas, and she's about to travel to Palm Bay for Christmas… hmm, I wonder who she'll meet…**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 _ **Chapter Two**_

 _Ally's POV_

"Hey Dez. It's Ally. I'm coming to visit you."

"Really? Are you serious?" Came the excited voice of my redhead friend through my phone.

I giggle slightly before answering. "Yeah, Trish told me one of your friends owns a lodge or something?"

"Yeah, his parents do, it's right on the coast and like five minutes from where I live!" He sounded even more excited than he already did, if that's even possible.

"Yes that's great, text me the address yeah? And I'll drive up tomorrow, should be there mid-afternoon ish?" I reply with a smile, looking at Trish who is also grinning.

"Yes Ally oh my God I can't believe you're actually coming to visit me!" Dez continued, starting to ramble. He then suddenly gasped before saying "I can show you my new pet rock!" I burst out laughing at this, trust Dez to keep a rock as a pet.

"Okay Dez, well I'll see you tomorrow. Oh and Trish says hi!" I say, spotting Trish waving indicating to me that she wanted me to pass on her greeting.

"I say hi back! See you tomorrow Ally." And with that he hangs up, and a huge smile spreads on my face as my plan to just get away all starts to come together.

"So that's it, then, you're all booked in." Trish says with a smile, walking up to me.

"Yeah, I guess I am." I reply happily with a nod.

"That's great! You wanna stay the night? Girl time and movies?" Trish offered.

"Trish I would love to but I should probably go home and pack, then I can get away first thing in the morning." I explain and she nods in understanding. I hug her and turn to leave, but stop when she calls out.

"Oh, one thing though… are you gonna tell your Dad?" She asks.

Ah. I hadn't thought about that. I mean, I probably should tell him, otherwise he'll be worried if I suddenly don't turn up at work or his house, but at the same time I know that if I do tell him then he'll just try and stop me from going and I really don't want to argue with him.

"I'll tell him when I'm there." I say as I come to my decision. "That way he'll know where I am but it'll be too late to stop me from going."

Trish nods in agreement. "Sounds good." She gives me one last hug. "Well Merry Christmas, have a good time up there and let me know what's happening, yeah?" She says as we pull apart.

"You know it!" I say before turning to walk out. "See ya Trish!"

I wake up the next morning to the sunlight streaming through my partially open curtains and delicately lighting up my room. I lay there in peace for a few minutes, remembering everything from last night.

I feel sudden heartbreak and sadness at the memory of Dallas dumping me, but that's swiftly replaced by overwhelming joy and excitement at the prospect of going to Palm Bay, being on my own for a while and seeing Dez again.

I get up and go through my morning routine of breakfast, shower etc. I dress into white skinny jeans, with a red off-the-shoulder top and a brown waist belt, matched with red flats. I straighten my hair and put on natural make up before spraying some perfume and throwing all my bathroom stuff into my suitcase, which I packed with clothes last night.

I check my phone and see it's just gone 9am, so hopefully I should be there around lunch time as long as there's no horrendous traffic.

I drag my suitcase out the door of my apartment and lock it, then put my keys in my purse and walk down the corridor. Typically, today the elevator has decided it doesn't want to work, forcing me to lug my huge suitcase down the ten flights of stairs, cursing myself for having to live so high up with every step.

I make it to my car and lift my suitcase into the back seat before getting into the driver's seat and driving out of Miami.

It's a beautiful day, the sun shining bright and the temperature around 82°, not bad for December. I wind my windows down and play my music, gleefully singing along to the radio as I drive. It's an amazing route, mostly along the coast, the ocean looks so gorgeous today. I wonder to myself why I've never really left Miami before, I've missed so much by being essentially trapped there – don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Miami, but this is definitely a welcome change.

At 12:30 exactly I drive past a sign saying "Welcome to Palm Bay" and squeal with excitement at having arrived. The town is small, quaint and drop dead gorgeous, exactly what I was hoping it would be like. Dez gave me specific instructions for how to get to the lodge from the highway, and I followed them carefully, my excitement and anticipation growing by the second.

I find myself on a small road right on the edge of the ocean, the town on my left and the beach on my right. I thought the Miami beaches were nice, but this is in a whole other league! The sand a beautiful golden almost white colour, with the most stunning colour of blue making up the ocean. The beach isn't crowded either, unlike Miami, with just a few families scattered. It's perfect.

I follow this coastal road which leads just outside of the town itself, only about a minute's drive. On my left, the place I'll be staying comes into view.

I pull into a car park with the sign "Welcome to Moon Beach Lodge".

. . . . .

 **That's it for this chapter! I know it's a little shorter than the first one was, but this just felt like a natural point to stop for now.**

 **Yes I know the name of the lodge is really uncreative but deal with it :D**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite and review!**

 **Catch you later!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Welcome back, I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying this story so far!**

 **Ally's arrived in Palm Bay, I wonder who she's about to meet…**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 _ **Chapter Three**_

 _Ally's POV_

"Welcome to Moon Beach Lodge" read the sign, and I couldn't be more excited to read it.

The parking lot in front of the quaint looking building was small but not cramped, with only two other cars occupying spaces. I parked up and turned off the engine.

I looked up at the lodge in front of me. It was a small brick building, three storeys high with windows evenly spaced covering the walls facing out towards the ocean behind me.

The glass door on the front of the lodge opened, revealing a lanky redhead with a… wacky sense of style. He was wearing bright red jeans with a green shirt and black and white polka dot suspenders with clown-style shoes on his feet.

He ran towards my car, shouting "Alllllllllyyyyyyyyyy!"

I giggled at my excitable friend before opening my door and running up to meet him. "Dez!" I shout as we reach each other in the middle and he picks me up in a bear hug, spinning me around as I continued to laugh my head off.

"I've missed you so much!" Dez said in my ear as I kept going round and round, wondering if he would ever put me down. Good job I don't get motion sick.

"I've missed you too Dez, and so has Trish." I reply, feeling more than a little thankful as my feet finally once again make contact with the ground. "How have you been?"

"I'm great, I love it here and I think you'll really love it too! Palm Bay is the most amazing place you'll visit this year." Dez says, a huge grin on his face. I can really tell he's happy here, and I'm happy for him since he always did have a few problems fitting in properly back in Miami.

"Great, I'm so excited to be here." I say as I walk around my car and open the door to get my suitcase out.

"Same here!" Dez says as we start to walk towards the lodge. "How long do you think you're gonna be here?"

"I hadn't really thought that through yet. For now I just need to get away from Miami." I reply, looking down at the floor as I wheel my case along next to me.

"Oh, why?" He asks.

"I'll tell you a bit later, Dez, for now I just want to settle in, yeah?" I say smiling up at him, trying not to feel sad as I think back to the reason I'm here.

"Okay." Dez says returning my grin, happily oblivious to the sadness I'm hiding. "Well I've already told Austin's parents you're coming so they have a room ready for you."

"Who's Austin?" I ask, curious at the name I don't remember hearing before.

"Oh, he's my friend – his parents own the lodge." Dez explains, opening the door of the lodge for me as I walk through.

The lobby is modern, open and airy, with a couple of white leather couches and a coffee table by a window overlooking the bay and a small reception desk with a blonde woman standing behind it.

"Welcome to Moon Beach Lodge!" The woman says as Dez and I enter the lobby. "You must be Ally, Dez told us you were coming." She continues, coming out from behind the desk and walking over to us. She offers her hand to shake, which I do. "I'm Mimi, my husband, Mike, and I own the lodge and our son Austin helps around, you'll meet them soon enough I'm sure."

"Nice to meet you Mimi." I say politely.

"Now Ally we've put you in room 23, on the second floor." Mimi says as she returns to the reception and picks up a small key before walking back over and handing it to me. "I see you have a case, Austin!" She calls out the name as I quickly send a text to Trish telling her I've arrived.

"Yeah mom?" I hear and unfamiliar voice, and I look up to see someone walk out from a back room behind the reception.

One word: wow. He is tall and clearly muscular, but not overly muscular. He has amazing blonde hair which is floppy and messy but still looks somehow neat. He has good facial features, and even from across the lobby I can see he has stunning brown eyes. All things considered, he certainly seems to be an attractive guy.

"Austin, this is Ally, she's going to be staying in room 23. Ally this is Austin, my son." Mimi says as Austin walks over to stand next to her.

"Nice to meet you Austin." I say kind of shyly.

"Likewise Ally." Austin replies with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.

"Okay guys I gotta head home for a bit, I'll be back in a bit." Dez says although I'm barely paying attention to him now.

"Okay Dez, see you later." Austin replies although he never breaks eye contact with me.

"Austin could you please take Ally's case and show her to her room?" Mimi asks and Austin nods in response.

"Sure." He says as he walks over and picks up my case with ease before turning and walking towards a door with a sign reading "Stairs" above it.

I follow Austin up one set of stairs and into another corridor. "So, Ally, you're from Miami?" Austin asks over his shoulder as we walk down the corridor slowly.

"Yeah, I was friends with Dez before he moved here." I answer.

"Nice." Austin replies. "So why are you here anyways?" He asks and my face falls, although he can't see that.

"Uh I'd rather not talk about it if it's all the same to you." I answer meekly and see him nod in front of me.

"Sure, no problem." He says. There is silence as we walk for just a couple of seconds before we stop in front of a wooden door with the number 23 written on it. "So, here is your room." He says, stepping back to let me use the key to open the door.

I do so and he picks up my case again, walking into the room and I follow. It's a fairly standard room like you'd expect in a hotel, with a queen size bed in between two small tables with lamps on. There is a big window overlooking the ocean, the view takes my breath away and I walk over to it, staring out with a huge smile on my face.

"I thought you'd like the view." I hear Austin say behind me, and I turn to face him to see he also has a smile on your face. "So, here's your bed, TV, dresser and over there is your bathroom." He says, pointing around the room to the appropriate locations.

"Thank you so much, Austin." I say, walking over to my case which he has placed at the foot of my bed.

"You're welcome. I'll leave you to unpack and settle in. My mom and I will be down in the lobby if you need anything." He says before turning and walking out.

As he shuts the door, I walk back, lean my back against the window and slide down to the floor, letting out a deep sigh as I think about the tall blonde I've just been speaking to. Wow.

. . . . .

 **There's chapter 3, I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **So Ally's arrived and met Austin, and there already seems to be a bit of chemistry there! Keep on reading to find out how this will develop.**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite and review!**

 **Catch you later!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Welcome back, I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying this story so far!**

 **Now that Ally's checked in to Moon Beach Lodge, and having met Austin, it's time for her to get to know her new surroundings…**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 _ **Chapter Four**_

 _Ally's POV_

I unpacked my case quickly, making the most of the ample wardrobe space I had available. I then walked over and took a long, gazing look over the beautiful water, only being pulled out of my trance by the sound of my phone pinging to tell me I had a notification.

I walk over to where my phone is resting on my bed and open it to find that it is a message from Trish, replying to my message that I had arrived in Palm Bay.

As I read her message, I realised that I still hadn't told my Dad that I wasn't in Miami – I don't have another shift at Sonic Boom until after Christmas, but he will still be expecting to see me – I normally go round to his house on Christmas day.

I find his contact and hit the "Call" button before pressing the phone to my ear. It rang a few times before my Dad's familiar voice came. "Hello?"

"Hi Daddy." I reply.

"Oh hey Ally-cat, what's up?" He asks.

"Umm… well I just thought I should let you know that I won't be coming to your house on Christmas day." I reply.

"Oh?" He responds, sounding surprised. "Why not?"

"Well, because, thing is, I'm not in Miami." I say quickly.

I hear my Dad chuckles slightly. "What do you mean you're not in Miami?"

"I mean exactly that, Dad. I'm in Palm Bay, and I'm gonna spend Christmas up here." I explain.

"Well what are you doing there?" He replied, sounding slightly annoyed now. "And why didn't you tell me before?" 

"I'm sorry, Daddy." I say. "It wasn't really planned, more of a last minute thing really."

"And why is that?"

"Well… Dallas dumped me yesterday, Daddy, and I just want to be away on my own for a while." I explain, quickly and relatively quietly.

"Oh my poor Ally-cat!" He coos, bringing a sad smile to my face. "What happened?"

"I don't even know, Dad." I reply and my voice shakes slightly. "He just said he wasn't feeling it anymore."

"That little bitch." He hisses and I can just tell he has a scowl on my face, which puts a smile on mine. "I never liked him."

I chuckle. "Yeah, I know, Dad." It's true, he'd always been kind of cold towards Dallas, clearly he's a much better judge of character than me if he could already tell Dallas was no good for me when I was just blinded by love.

"Well I'm sorry honey, and I understand why you're away now. But are you sure you really want to be alone on Christmas Day?" He asks.

"Yeah it'll be weird not being with you and the rest of the family, but I'm sure I'll be fine. Besides this is where Dez moved, that's why I came here, so I'm not completely on my own." I explain.

"Ah okay cupcake. Well if you're happy there, then I'm obviously not going to try and force you to come back or anything. Have a good time, sweetheart."

"Thank you Daddy, I'll ring you on Christmas Day." I say.

"Okay Ally, bye."

"Bye Daddy. Love you." And then I hang up the phone.

Around 20 minutes later I decide to go down to the lobby, familiarise myself with the lodge a bit. Maybe Austin will be there… wait, why am I thinking like that?

Anyways, I grab my phone, which had been charging, and walk out and lock my door, before reversing my steps from earlier and going down the staircase.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee instantly hits me the moment I walk through the door into the lobby and it is heavenly. I smile as I look around the room, before walking over to one of the couches and sitting down. From here I had another great view out over the ocean, and decided this was the perfect place to read, for future reference.

I left all my books up in my room and I can't be bothered to walk all the way back upstairs just to get them, so I instead settle on the magazines on the coffee table in front of me.

I'm halfway through an article on "The perfect Christmas tree" when a familiar voice says "Oh, hey Ally." I turn and see Austin walking towards me, seemingly coming away from the back room behind the reception.

I smile and reply. "Hi Austin."

He takes a seat on the couch opposite me and I place the magazine back on the coffee table. The article wasn't that interesting anyway. "So, how long are you staying here for?" He asks.

"Well I don't really know yet. It was kind of a sudden decision to come here at all." I explain and he nods. "Probably until after Christmas, though."

"Nice, you're from Miami, right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Dez told me." He answers. "You guys were friends before he moved away, right? You two and another girl… Tasha or something?"

"Trish." I answer. "Yeah we were all really close friends, and Trish is still my best friend."

"And they were dating before he left, right?"

"Yeah." I nod. "You seem awfully curious about all this."

He shrugs. "Honestly it gets pretty boring living here sometimes. There's not a whole lot to do. So when Dez moved it was just refreshing to have someone talk about somewhere different. Plus I might as well learn a bit about his old life so I can be better friends with him." Austin explains.

"Fair enough." I reply with a smile. There is a comfortable silence for just a couple of seconds.

"So, Ally, why _did_ you come here?" He asks and my heart sinks at the memory.

"Uh… I don't really want to talk about it right now, if that's okay." I say as I look at my hands. Austin seems real nice and all but I've only just met him, I'm not ready to open up to him about Dallas yet. I look up to see him nodding quickly.

"Of course, no problem." He says with a smile and I return it. "Well, I should probably get back to work. My parents are out for the afternoon so I'm in charge of the place until they get back." He continues standing up and I do the same.

"Yeah you do that, I'll see you later." I say.

"Bye Ally."

"Bye Austin."

And with that he heads back to that back room and I head back upstairs.

. . . . .

 **And that's chapter 4!**

 **Austin and Ally seem to be getting on well… in the next chapter Ally's gonna go exploring round the town, and Austin may just tag along to show her around…**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite and review, massive thank you to everyone who has already!**

 **Catch you later!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone!**

 **So, umm, yeah… hi. Sorry for such a long wait, I had intended a really good upload schedule for this but got super busy before the end of school – but now Christmas vacation is here I am writing like crazy! You can now expect daily uploads on this story, and potentially even 2 or 3 chapters in a day!**

 **I hope you guys continue to enjoy this story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 _ **Chapter Five**_

 _Ally's POV_

I woke up feeling so relaxed and refreshed on my first morning in Palm Bay. My room was perfect, and the windows pointed in just the right direction for the morning sunlight to gently glisten in through it without completely blinding me.

I decided that, since it was my first full day, I should go explore round the town and get my bearings. It seems like a small town but I'm sure I'll be surprised with how much there is to do.

I get up and walk into the en-suite bathroom to do my normal morning routine, and dress into black skinny jeans, with a bright blue tank top and a black leather jacket with black flats. I put my hair up into a tight, high pony and grab my purse and phone before leaving the room.

The lodge doesn't have a restaurant that serves breakfast, so I'll have to pick something up from somewhere in town but I'm fine with that.

I head downstairs and into the lobby, where I find Austin sitting on one of the couches. Not gonna lie, he definitely looks hot in his ripped black skinny jeans and white and blue Hollister long-sleeve t-shirt. "Morning Ally." He calls out with a smile when he sees me.

"Hey Austin." I reply with a similar smile as I walk across the lobby to him.

"Did you sleep okay?" He asks as he stands up.

"Yeah thanks, my room's great." I reply as I quickly scan through the notifications on my phone, finding nothing vaguely interesting.

"Good." He replies. "So, any plans today?" He asks.

"No, not really, I was just gonna head out and look around Palm Bay a little." I reply, looking up into his deep hazel eyes.

"Oh nice." He replies.

"Yeah." I say, trying my best not to stumble over my words as I find myself dragged into his gaze. "I just thought, since I don't know how long I'm gonna stay here, might as well get used to the place."

"Yeah, good idea." Comes his reply. "Do you… uh… fancy company?" He asks with an almost child-like hopeful look on his face.

"What?" I ask with a smile, a little confused.

"I mean, would you like me to come with you? Give you a little tour as it were?" He clarifies.

"Sure. I'd love that." I reply, my smile widening, as I'm grateful I won't be alone and wandering round lost looking like an idiot.

"Great, let's go." He says and instantly walks towards the door, motioning with his head for me to follow. Which, of course, I do.

I think everyone has their own idea of what beautiful is. For some people, beautiful is high up in the mountains, with an incredible horizon and snow-capped peaks all around. For some people, beautiful is deep beneath the ocean, with the colours of coral and fish and whatever else might be there. Maybe beautiful is deep in the rainforest, with the colour green filling your vision wherever you look.

But for me, beautiful isn't any of those things. To me, beautiful is here, in Palm Bay.

I'm in love with this place already. I think it's perfect.

Austin and I walked along the beach towards the town, which is simply the nicest beach I've ever come across. The sand was warm under my feet without being scorching hot, and the sunlight was reflecting scenically off the water without being too bright and blinding me.

We walked down to the water's edge and paddled in the cool water as it gently came in and out with the waves of the tide.

The beach was almost completely empty, which was definitely not something I was used to coming from Miami, where you're lucky to walk three feet before bumping into somebody else or treading on someone's toes and getting shouted at.

It was only a couple of minutes walking along the beach before we reached the actual town.

The town itself is small and quaint and cosy and just nice-feeling. It reminds me of something out of a novel or movie, you know those too-good-to-be-true places where everything seems so friendly and perfect just before a murder happens… only I'm hoping there'll be no murders here!

Everyone we came across seemed to know Austin, he's like a celebrity! I guess this is one of those communities where everyone knows everyone else and their personal lives like an intricate, interwoven web.

I even got some jealous looks off girls who looked to be about my age when they saw me walking with Austin… I mean, I can't really blame them!

We had been wandering round the town, with Austin showing me where everything important is, for just over an hour, and I'm starting to get really hungry. And it seems Austin can read my mind, since he turned to me and said the words I'd been hoping he'd say for the last 20 minutes – "You wanna get something to eat?"

. . . . .

 **So that's all for today! I know it's quite an abrupt ending but it's all I have time to write today!**

 **Remember to follow, favourite and review, I cannot explain how much your support means to me!**

 **Catch you later!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone!**

 **Welcome back, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 _ **Chapter Six**_

 _Ally's POV_

When Austin suggested getting food, I can honestly say that was the most relieved I had felt in a while – I really needed to eat!

Of course I agreed that getting food was probably a good idea, and then asked Austin if there was anywhere he recommended to eat.

"Well, I have my favourite place, but I don't know if you'd necessarily want to go there right now." He replies, which catches my curiosity.

"Really? Well where is it? What kind of food does it do?" I ask.

"You see, Ally, my favourite food of all time, ever, in the entire universe…" he says, turning to look at me in the eye, and I nod for him to continue. "is pancakes."

I giggle slightly at this revelation. "Go on." I prompt.

"And Palm Bay just so happens to have an IHOP." Austin finishes.

I giggle again and look at my watch. "Austin, it's 2pm." I say, my point being this isn't really the normal time of day to eat pancakes.

"Exactly, which is why I said you might not have wanted to go there right now. But, I say, there's _never_ a wrong time for pancakes." He says, puffing his chest out slightly which just made me laugh even more.

"Well then, Austin, I will take your word for it. Come on, where's this IHOP at?" I reply, and his face lights up like a lightbulb.

"Really?" He asks.

"Yeah, now come on I'm starving!" I reply with a smile.

"Woohoo! Pancakes!" He shouts before grabbing my hand and starting to run with me down the street, my laughs filling the air because of this childish-acting man.

After a couple of minutes we get to the restaurant. I've only ever been to an IHOP a couple of times back in Miami. It was nice enough, I could just never really be bothered to go out there much and none of my friends were really huge pancake fans, definitely not to the extent Austin seems to be!

We get seated at a small booth and Austin glances at his menu for about a second before putting it down again. Clearly he has his favourite that he's gonna order. I decide I'll just trust his judgement and order the same as him, he seems to be a bit of an expert anyway.

We keep chatting like we have been the whole morning whilst we wait, we have never ran out of things to say so far.

After a couple of minutes a waitress comes over. She's stunning, to say the least, and her name tag reads 'Kira'. "Hey Austy!" She says when she reaches us.

Austin groans and looks up at her. "Hello Kira." I give him a confused look but he just looks back at Kira again.

"What can I get you?" She asks in a sickly sweet voice.

"I'll have my usual." He deadpan replies, looking down at the menu. Kira nods and scribbles something down before turning to me with a scowl on her face.

"And you?" She asks in an evidently harsher tone.

"U-Uh I'll just have the same as him." I reply a little nervous under Kira's heavy gaze, no doubt looking like a pathetic idiot.

She nods and scribbles something else down before sending another big grin Austin's way and turning to walk – more of a strut, really – towards the kitchen.

I look back at Austin. "Who was that?" I ask a little confused.

"Kira. She's my ex." Austin replies, twirling the straw round in his glass. "Don't worry about her, she was just jealous that you're here with me, she was one of those overly-clingy types." He explains, and I nod in understanding.

"So who's your current girlfriend then?" I ask, this time it's my turn to spin the straw in my glass. "No doubt someone as stunningly beautiful as Kira." I continue.

"Actually I'm single right now." He says nonchalantly, causing my eyes to spring back up to him and my heart to do a weird leap for some reason.

"Really?" I ask.

He chuckles. "Yeah, why's that so hard to believe?"

In my mind I'm saying _'because you're an utterly gorgeous and insanely sweet guy'_ but I obviously don't say that out loud because I don't want to look like a complete psychopathic freak. "Oh, no real reason, I just assumed you would be taken is all." I timidly reply, feeling myself blush and mentally cursing myself for it.

He chuckles again. "What about you, anyone back in Miami got your heart?" He asks.

I will myself not to become weak and cry when I think of Dallas back home, but I know he can tell I'm just putting on a brave-ish face. "No, not anymore…" I reply, intending to sound strong and indifferent but it actually came out in a weak, scratchy whisper.

I look down as tears start to prick the backs of my eyes, ashamed to be crying again in front of Austin. I feel so stupid.

Then I feel a warm, comforting hand placed over mine, and look up to see Austin's delicately sitting on mine, rubbing it gently. "Hey hey hey." He said in a gentle, quiet voice. "It's okay. You don't have to talk about it."

I nod, feeling so frustrated with myself. "I want to tell you, Austin, trust me I do. I'm just not ready yet."

"Of course, it's no problem." He says with a very light chuckle and gentle shake of his head.

"Thank you, Austin." I say, smiling once again as I look back up at him.

"No problem Als." He replies.

Our food comes, and I was definitely right to go along with what Austin ordered because it was _amazing_! Fortunately it wasn't Kira who served us our food, I wasn't prepared to face that level of awkwardness again!

When we're done, and despite all my protesting, Austin insists on paying the entire bill. We leave the IHOP and begin to walk down the street. It's only just gone 3pm, but it's already starting to get a little darker and we decide to head back to the lodge.

The IHOP is all the way on the other side of town from the lodge, so when we're just gone halfway back the sun has set, but it is not yet completely dark. One thing that took me by surprise, however, was the temperature. It's been warm all day, but as soon as the sun went down the temperature plummeted like a stone.

We were walking along the beach and a sudden breeze off the ocean hit us, making me feel even colder. I was wearing a leather jacket, but it was really more for show and style than actually keeping me warm. Austin noticed my shivering, and offered me the zip-up jacket he'd picked up just before we left the lodge this morning. I didn't want him to get cold so I told him to keep it, but once again he insisted and, well, let's just say I wasn't really mad when I took it from him and put it on. It certainly helped with the warmth, anyway.

We got back to the lodge, and the warmth that hit us when we walked in did not go unnoticed. I gave Austin his jacket back. Part of me was expecting, and kind of hoping, that he'd do the stereotypical thing of telling me to keep it, but I think we both knew that was a stupid idea.

"Well thank you for showing me around today, Austin, I had a great time." I said, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him.

He quickly returns the hug, wrapping his arms around my petite frame. "No problem, Als, I had a good time too." He says gently in my ear.

I don't know how long we keep hugging, and honestly I don't care, but eventually we break apart. "Goodnight Austin."

"Night Ally." He replies, before turning to walk back behind the desk as I turn to walk towards the stairs.

. . . . .

 **There you go, chapter six!**

 **I wish I had more time to refine this chapter, and actually this whole story, but that's life and I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out.**

 **Austin and Ally are getting closer, but she still hasn't told him about Dallas yet. Maybe that will be the final thing keeping her from opening up completely to him…**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite and review!**

 **Catch you later!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone, welcome back to this story!**

 **So I really wanted to update this story every day, but it seems life has been working against me recently – a sudden influx of work, as well as having to move into my brother's room over Christmas, meaning I don't have my computer and have to use my laptop… which didn't have Word installed so I've had to do that and it's been a stress… BUT I'm all sorted now and today I am writing all day so hopefully I can get lots done!**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 ** _Chapter Seven_**

 _Ally's POV_

I've been here in Palm Bay for just over a week now, and it's December 8th. It's a Saturday morning, and I wake up to the now familiar sound of the crashing waves and gentle streams of sunlight.

However, it's amazing the difference one week can make in the weather. It's not as warm anymore , unlike when I arrived, but it's still not absolutely freezing. We've even had a few small flurries of snow, but not enough for it to set on the ground properly. I've always dreamed of seeing a white Christmas, and I'm quietly hoping that this will be the year, if it snows enough.

I go through my normal morning routine. I don't really plan on leaving the lodge today, and the whole place has central heating, so I don't need to dress for the cold, so I wear a purple floaty long-sleeved t-shirt with some blue skinny jeans and my knee-high Ugg boots.

I decide to head down to the lobby to get a coffee from the coffee machine Mimi told me about, which is technically meant to be Staff Only, but I think the Moons have taken a liking to me and they let me use it for free.

As I get into the lobby, I see Mike and Mimi seemingly getting ready to go out. "Morning, Ally dear." Mimi calls out as I walk in.

"Morning Mimi." I reply as I walk over towards the coffee machine. "You guys going on a family outing or something?" I ask, but notice Austin is not with them.

Mike chuckles. "No, Ally, I wish, but someone has to stay here to watch the lodge." I instantly feel kind of stupid for even considering that they could all leave for the day.

"But Mike and I are having a day off, we're going round the town to do our Christmas shopping. Austin's going to stay here, and I'm sure he'd appreciate you keeping him company." Mimi said, as she and Mike put on their winter coats and scarves.

"Well luckily for him I hadn't planned on going out today." I reply with a smile, pouring creamer into my coffee and stirring it.

"Ah good. He was just finishing getting ready upstairs," Mike said, referring to the small apartment the Moons have within the lodge building where they live. "I'm sure he'll be down in a few minutes."

I smile and nod. "Well, enjoy your day." I say to them, walking over to take a seat one a couch and pick up a magazine to lazily flip through.

"We will dear, bye." Mimi says, offering a small wave before her and Mike leave through the front door and get into their small car.

A few minutes pass by before I hear footsteps coming down the stairs and look up to see Austin walking into the lobby. "Morning Als." He calls out with a smile, copying my actions of walking over to the coffee machine.

"Hey Austin." I reply. "Any plans today?" These morning conversations were standard for us now, we hadn't really had proper time together since he showed me around, but we speak every morning.

"Well, I could hear voices from upstairs so I'm guessing you've spoken to my parents." Austin says, stirring his coffee and walking over to sit next to me. "So, as I have to stay here all day I've decided I might as well decorate the lodge today." He continued, taking a sip of his drink.

"Ooh exciting." I say, putting the magazine back on the coffee table.

"Indeed." Austin smiled at me. "Would you… uh… care to give me a hand?" He asked.

I smiled. "Sure, I'd love to. I love decorating for Christmas." I reply.

"Great, me too." He said, putting his coffee and the table and standing up. I do the same. "The decorations are all in the back room, I'll go get them." He says before walking away.

He disappears into the back room and comes out a minute later with a huge box full of lights, tinsel and other Christmas-related paraphernalia. He then disappears back into the room, only to once again re-emerge with another box. He makes several trips in and out of the room, and eventually there are about seven big boxes full to the brim with decorations. I clap my hands together with excitement.

"Ready?" He asks.

"Of course!" I reply, walking over to the first box, which he is already standing next to. This box contains mostly lights, all different kinds and colours.

"So, first, the lights outside." He states. "I won't make you come outside, so why don't you start sorting through all the boxes and arranging everything into piles and stuff whilst I really quickly do these lights. Shouldn't take long." He says, hoisting up the box into his arms and strolling towards the door.

"Okay." I reply after him, before turning back and kneeling next to the box, pulling everything out and organising it into piles: tinsel, indoor lights, tree parts, baubles, stockings, etc.

Austin comes in and out a few times, plugging things into sockets and turning on the power. We exchange smiles each time, I can tell he really loves doing all of this.

About 25 minutes later I'm done, everything neatly arranged and ready to be put up, and just as I finish placing the last item, Austin triumphantly strides back into the lobby.

"Okay, outside lights all done." He says happily, walking over to where I am in the middle of all the piles, looking proudly at my work. "Nice, I think we're ready to begin!"

He walks over to the huge pile of stockings – I was really surprised with how many of them there were! "First, we do the stockings." Austin said, picking one up. "We give every guest who's in the lodge over Christmas a small stocking of presents. Nothing big, just like a few chocolates, stuff like that. We try to get to know the people who stay here over the festive period so we can make sure to get something they'll like." He explains, as I also pick up a stocking off the pile.

"That's so nice!" I say, as we walk over to the lobby desk, where Austin pulls out a small pad of paper with a list on it, detailing what each guest is to be given in their stocking.

"Yeah, I think so too." Austin says. "Now, this year there's going to be 10 people here on Christmas day, so we only need ten of those stockings."

"Okay, shall I put the rest away then?" I ask, turning to start to walk towards them, but I'm stopped by a hand on my arm turning me back around.

"Hang on, it's not that easy. As well as personalising each guest's gifts, we also need to choose a stocking for each of them. They're all different designs so we need to choose ones we think they'll like best." He then proceeds to walk past me to the pile and I follow, amazed at how much the Moons care about their guests.

"Right, so what do you think, then? You know them, after all." I say, kneeling down in front of the pile as he does the same.

"Well, four of the ten guests are a family with two small kids." Austin explains, pulling out two stockings that strike us as particularly appealing for children. One is green, with a Santa and a few presents decorated on the front. The other is blue, decorated with a snowman wearing a red top hat and green bow-tie. "So I was thinking we use these two for them."

"I couldn't agree more." I say, feeling the soft fabric.

"Then for the parents I was thinking these two." Austin says pulling out two identical, simpler red stockings which simply have "Merry Christmas" embroidered in gold fabric. They look elegant and classy but still festive.

"Perfect." I confirm with a smile.

We go on like this for all the guests who will be in the lodge, and I'm really impressed with how well Austin knows each guest and which stocking will suit them best.

We then fill the stockings with the gifts which have been pre-determined and re-bought, and then the stockings are all stored in the back room ready to be hung on the doors of the rooms late on Christmas Eve ready for when they wake up on Christmas Day.

Next we decorate the corridors with tinsel and paper chains, getting into several small arguments over whose design and idea for how to hang them was better. Austin, probably just being a gentleman, conceded and allowed me to win most of these debates, after which we both laughed lightly as we hung them.

It was just after 3 in the afternoon and we were back in the lobby, the final place we needed to decorate. After around an hour, tinsel, paper chains and paper snowflakes were pretty much everywhere. Think of how Buddy the elf goes massively overboard decorating his dad's apartment in the movie 'Elf' and you get the idea. Yeah… we may have gotten a little carried away!

The final thing we need to do is the Christmas Tree, which is going to sit right against the wall in one corner of the small lobby.

Constructing the tree itself is a bit of a hassle in the first place, we both get hit in the eyes with branches a couple of times, but it's good fun and our laughter fills the room pretty much the whole time. Then came the time to actually decorate the tree.

Here came our most significant argument, over what colour of tinsel should go where on the tree. "Are you serious? Gold tinsel would look so much better there!" I would say sternly yet still smiling.

"Nuh-uh! Red tinsel should go here and you know it!" He would reply, and we would both burst into laughter again.

It was dark by now, so we put on the lights next, and they looked absolutely beautiful twinkling away when they were on. Next was the red baubles, which we scattered on branches evenly spaced, happily chatting away as we did this.

The last thing we had to do was put the star on the top of the tree. I, obviously, was too short to reach the top, but I think Austin could tell I really wanted to do it. He could have reached had he stood on his tiptoes, however instead he said I could sit on his shoulders, which I happily accepted.

I stood on one of the couches and he stood in front of me, and with one swift jump I was comfortably on his shoulders, giggling as he walked towards the tree, feeling as tall as a skyscraper in comparison to my normal height. _'So this is what being tall feels like…'_ I jokingly thought to myself as Austin handed me up the star which I took. I gently leant forward and the star fit perfectly on the top of the tree. It looked perfect.

Austin took a few steps back and we admired our handiwork, both really happy with how the tree eventually turned out.

I leant my neck down and wrapped my arms around his neck, effectively hugging him as best I could in the position. "Thanks Austin." I say into his ear. "I've had a really great time today."

"Don't mention it." He replied. "Thanks for helping me out."

I think at this point he's gonna let me down off his shoulders, but it seems he had other plans, since as I began to lower my legs he suddenly said a quick "Nope!" and began running round the lobby, causing me to laugh loudly as he unexpectedly took off, and his laughs soon join mine. He runs a couple of laps around the lobby, before stopping in front of the tree and spinning round quickly, making me squeal as he continued to laugh.

I join him in the laughter as he slowly stops spinning and lifts me around to face him, still holding me off the floor, our faces not at all far apart. I look into his eyes and immediately get lost, as I have done so many times before.

As I look into his eyes I come to the realisation that I am falling for this man, and this is confirmed by the fact that my body makes no effort to move away as he slowly begins leaning in towards me.

My eyes flutter shut as I prepare myself for the feeling of his lips on mine… when the front door swings open and Mike and Mimi walk in. Austin immediately drops me down and we take a few steps apart. I look down, willing my face to stop blushing before looking up at the couple.

"Hi Mike, Mimi. Did you have a nice day?" I ask politely as they take off their coats and put them into one of the many bags they are now carrying.

"Yes thank you, dear, we got all our shopping done." Mimi happily says as Mike picks up a few bags and begins to walk towards the stairs.

"Austin, give me a hand carrying these bags up will you?" Mike asks, and Austin quickly nods before walking over, kissing Mimi on the cheek and picking up a few bags before following his father.

As soon as they leave the room, Mimi turns back to me with a smile on her face. "Soooo?" She asks like a teenager.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"What was that we walked in on? Sorry we interrupted, we would have waited otherwise." She says, winking.

I laugh lightly. "Don't worry Mimi, you didn't interrupt anything. We didn't even kiss, I don't know what happened, we were just in the moment I guess." I explain, fiddling my hands around nervously.

"Ally, I don't mind if you like Austin." Mimi says comfortingly, rubbing my arms. "In fact, I would be very happy if you did. You're a lovely girl." I smile. "Plus, I'm pretty sure he likes you too."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yes! After that day you spent together, he was happier than I can remember him being for a long time." She explains, and I smile. "So? Are you gonna go for it?" She asks expectantly.

I sigh. "I don't know, Mimi." I reply. "The whole reason I came to Palm Bay in the first place was because I just got my heart broken. I don't know if I'm ready for another relationship yet." I explain and her face softens.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry Ally. What happened?" She asked.

"My boyfriend of two years just suddenly dumped me, because he 'wasn't feeling it anymore'," I say, using air quotes.

"Oh, well, honey, he was clearly a jerk and not right for you. Nobody should treat you that way." She says, comfortingly stroking my hair and pulling me in for a hug.

I'm really growing to Mimi, she's already like a new mother to me. It's reassuring, nice, but sadly unfamiliar, as I've had to grow up without a mother figure since my Mom died when I was young and my Dad never remarried.

"Thanks Mimi." I say, returning the hug.

"No problem honey. I understand why you're sceptical about dating Austin." She says, pulling away from the hug and resting her hands on my shoulders, looking into my eyes. "But trust me when I say that Austin is truly one of the nicest guys you'll ever come across, and I can guarantee he'd never treat you that way."

"I believe you Mimi, I really do." I reply, looking into her eyes with a smile. "I'll think about it." I continue. "For now, I'm gonna go and have a nice, long bath I think. And I need to call Trish, I haven't spoken to her in a few days."

"Who's Trish?" Mimi asks, walking over to the desk.

"Oh just my best friend back in Miami. She's the one who suggested I could come here, she's Dez's ex." I explain.

"As in Austin's best friend Dez?" She asks.

"Well how many other Dez's do you know?" I ask with a chuckle, which she matches.

"Good point. Well, you must thank Trish from me for suggesting us. I would never have met you otherwise." She says with a smile, which makes me beam too.

"I will do. Thank you Mimi. I'll see you tomorrow." I say, turning to walk towards the stairs.

"Night Ally." I hear Mimi say behind me.

I pass Austin on my way up the stairs. I smile at him. "Thanks again, Austin. I'll see you tomorrow." I say.

He returns the smile. "No problem Als. Sleep well."

And with that I return into my room and collapse onto my bed, picking up my phone and dialling Trish. "I have so much to tell you." I say when she picks up the phone.

. . . . .

 **That's chapter 7! So it's up a little later than intended, as I said earlier, but I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out in the end.**

 **Remember to follow, favourite and review! I honestly cannot say how much it means to me!**

 **Catch you later!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone, welcome back to this story! This is the FINAL CHAPTER of Away For Christmas!**

 **Thank you all so much for the support you've given this story, it's been incredible. Yes, I didn't exactly keep to the upload schedule I originally planned, but I'm still pretty happy with the way it's all turned out. I wanted to post this yesterday, but again I ran out of time, so instead it's here on Christmas Day as my Christmas present to you!**

 **Merry Christmas everybody!**

 **I hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 ** _Chapter Eight_**

 _Ally's POV_

It's Christmas Eve in Palm Bay. I've loved every single second of my time here so far, from the moment I walked through the front doors of the lodge for the very first time. I'm not leaving yet, though. In fact, I don't know if I ever want to leave here.

The situation with Austin is… well, the same. I've been thinking non-stop about him since the almost-kiss and my talk with Mimi, but I still haven't decided what I want to do. Whenever I'm around him I want nothing more than to be with him, but honestly I haven't really seen him that much since our day decorating the lodge together.

I told Trish everything that's happened, and she really wants me to go for it, she thinks if nothing else it will help me get over Dallas… but I would never use Austin that way. He deserves so much better than that. If I decide I want to be with him, it will be because I really like him, not because of my desperation to move on from Dallas.

I've tried to convince Trish to come up to Palm Bay too. I think she'd love it here, plus she may be able to rekindle things with Dez – they were such a cute couple back in Miami! But she said she can't get any time off work before Christmas and then of course she's spending Christmas Day with her family. She said she'd see what she could do but I'm not really holding my hopes too high.

This trip has really let em get back to being close friends with Dez, though. We've spent a lot of time together here, because obviously I didn't know anybody else (apart from Austin, who was with us sometimes). I can tell he really misses Trish. To be honest I don't know why they didn't try a long-distance relationship… I mean, yes, they are very difficult and lots of them fail, but I really believe that if your love for each other is strong enough you can get through anything. And I genuinely think theirs was. Hmm, maybe I should try and get them back together... but I know that won't happen unless they meet face to face again.

Anyway, yeah, Christmas Eve. I got up as normal and spent the morning wrapping the few gifts I had bought for Dez, Austin, Mike and Mimi. The Moons are already like a second family to me, they've been so generous and kind to me since I arrived, it's gonna be so sad when I have to leave.

I'm even spending Christmas Day with them tomorrow. As soon as they realised I was going to be here, and therefore on my own, for Christmas they immediately said I could spend it with them. Initially I declined, because I don't want to be a burden and intrude on their family time, but they insisted and said it would just be the three of them anyway so a change in company would be 'refreshing'.

At around 1pm I decided to finally open my curtains. I've had them closed all morning, lighting the room with some fairy lights I'd picked up from a store a few days ago. It felt more Christmassy using those instead of sunlight, especially when combined with the Christmas movies I'd been watching.

I walked over to the window and yanked the curtains open, and saw nothing but white.

Snow.

Snow everywhere.

I'd gotten my white Christmas! Well, Christmas Eve, but close enough!

At first I clapped my hands together and jumped around a little, excited, but then I realised just how much it had snowed. It was _a lot_! It reached halfway up my car door, and was completely filling the entire parking lot and the road outside it. It was still snowing too, and heavily at that, and I let out a gasp as I realised that I was probably snowed in… not that it really mattered, I hadn't planned on going out.

I ran down to the lobby, which was empty, and saw the snow piled up against the glass front door, completely blocking any hopes of leaving. Yep, I was definitely snowed in. Wow.

"Yep, we're stuck here." Came the voice of a familiar blonde behind me. "Hope you weren't planning on leaving me today." He says as I turn around and see him with a small smirk on his face.

"This is incredible!" I say, beaming. "Has it ever happened before?"

He shrugs. "Every couple of years or so. Why? I'm guessing this doesn't happen in Miami…"

"Never." I reply, shaking my head, my gentle curls bouncing around my face as I do so.

"Well, the bad news is we're snowed in. We can't go anywhere." He says, starting to walk towards me. "The good news is, we've got the whole place to ourselves." He continues with a smile.

"What?" I ask.

"My parents have gone out again, and so have all the other guests. They left earlier this morning, before the snow had built up, and now they won't be able to get back in. So that just leaves you and me."

I smile and nod. "Great. So what do you want to do?" I ask.

"Well, I was thinking…" He says, pausing for dramatic effect. "we bake us some cookies, then make some hot chocolate, and then a movie marathon. How does that sound?" He asks in a quiet but excitable voice, like a 5-year-old explaining their secret plan for raiding the cookie jar.

I giggle before looking back into his eyes. "Sounds perfect." I say.

"Great! Let's go!" And with that he takes off, sprinting up the stairs towards his apartment, leaving me confused and semi-dazed in his wake.

I run after him, laughing loudly. "Hey, Austin, wait up!" I say as I trail behind him up the stairs which he is taking about 10 at a time.

He reaches the first floor in no time, turning round and leaning against the wall as he waits for me, not even slightly out of breath. I, on the other hand, regret running after him and almost lose the will to live only halfway up the stairs, stopping for a very long time once I reach the top to re-catch my breath, which Austin finds hilarious judging by his laughter.

"Its… not… that… funny!" I say between wheezes, feeling embarrassed about how unfit I am.

"Sorry, Als." He says in a way that makes my heart flutter slightly.

About 30 seconds later I've regained enough breath to stand up straight and we continue to his family's apartment. The door's unlocked, since nobody else is here, and we walk in and through to the kitchen.

Luckily, the Moons already happened to have all the ingredients I needed for my famous chocolate-chip cookie recipe, and I smacked my hands together in glee, causing me to receive a questioning glance from Austin, and that in turn made me blush… only making me more embarrassed because I was blushing, which therefore made me blush even harder. Urgh!

"So, I'm guessing you know how to make cookies?" Austin asks me, getting the final bowl we will need out of a cupboard.

"Pfft, no just cookies, I happen to know how to make the _best_ chocolate chip cookies the world has ever known." I reply cockily with a smug grin.

"Well, someone's confident." Austin replies with a smile, turning the oven on to pre-heat. "So, how do you wanna start?"

"Step aside, Moon." I say, bumping him out of the way and standing in front of the bowl.

He chuckles, before I hear him walking back towards the door to the living room, saying "Hold on, one thing first."

I feel his presence return behind me a few seconds later before a large piece of cloth that I quickly recognise to be an apron appears in front of me. "Hygiene first." He says in my ear, before he ties the strings of the apron in a bow behind my back. I feel tiny electric sparks every time his fingers brush against my back and it makes me blush again.

When he's done we walk over to the sink and wash our hands, before he puts on an apron himself. We walk back over to the mixing bowl with all the ingredients laid out next to it and begin.

We start by creaming together softened butter, white sugar and brown sugar using a mixer, because I'm way too weak to effectively mix it by hand. Next we have to beat in eggs, but halfway through beating in the first one the electric mixer stops working. Of course, Austin uses this as an opportunity to roll up his sleeves and demonstrate his almighty strength by using a hand whisk… not gonna lie, he does a good job, and it's not exactly _unpleasant_ to watch his muscles at work…

I have to tear my eyes away when it's done though, but my recipe happens to call for two eggs, so I get to witness the whole thing again. I'm not complaining. Next we add in baking soda and a tiny bit of salt.

The next ingredient we need to add is flour. I carefully scoop three cups into the bowl. Just after I empty the third cup into the mixing bowl, I hear Austin's voice. "Hey Ally." He says.

I turn to look at him, only to have him throw a tiny handful of flour in my face, causing me to cough a little and scrunch my face up at the contact of flour on my skin, and also causing Austin to break into hysterical laughter. Most girls in this situation would be so mad that he did that, but I just found it hilarious too. I refrained from laughing, though. _'Two can play at that game.'_ I thought to myself.

I still had the measuring cup in my hand, and a mischievous smirk flashed onto my face when I thought of my plan. Austin was still doubled over in hysterics, so he didn't notice me scoop a full cup of flour up and move it behind my back.

I put on my sweetest smile and gently tapped his shoulder. "Hey, Austin." I said in a nice voice. He looked up, and the second we made eye contact I swung my other arm around from behind my back, catapulting the entire cup of flour into his face. It completely smacked him and engulfed his entire head with a satisfying _"whumpth"_ sound. I lasted about half a second before bursting out into the biggest laugh I have ever laughed in my entire life. It was freaking hysterical.

About three seconds later I looked up to see him spitting out an enormous mouthful of flour. I guess he was smiling when I chucked it at him. "That's karma, Moon." I say to him before continuing to feel like I'm gonna die of laughter.

"Oh, it is _on,_ Dawson." Austin replies in a playful voice, before grabbing a handful of flour straight out of the bag and throwing it at me, but I squealed and managed to dodge it just in time, picking some up off the floor in the process and jumping to tip it over his head and down his face. He then proceeded to scoop another handful and chase me around the kitchen, our laughter filling the room.

He eventually caught up to me and wrapped on arm around my waist, lifting me up with ease whilst the other hand rubbed his stash of flour in my face, making me laugh and him the same. He puts me down and I instinctively turn and throw my arms around his neck in a hug, which he quickly returns.

I never had this much fun with Dallas. Our relationship always seemed so serious, so… well… _boring_. Sure, at the time it felt like it was great fun, but I realise now that in comparison to the time I spend with Austin it was dull as hell.

We stay in the hug for like 10 seconds, before I look up and murmur "We should probably clean this up."

He looks back down at me and nods with a small smile. "I need to get changed, and you better borrow some clothes, you're covered in flour." He chuckles again and I smile.

"You sure?" I ask.

"Of course, it's no bother." He replies with that charming grin that I'm growing weak at more and more.

"Okay." I say meekly before stepping away, allowing him to walk off in the direction of his bedroom. He emerges a few minutes later.

"Alright, here, this is the smallest pair of sweatpants, t-shirt and hoodie I own." He says, handing the clothes to me. "The bathroom is just down there on the left." He says, indicating down the hallway.

"Okay, thanks." I say, before walking off in the direction he showed me.

I quickly wash the flour off my face and get most of it out of my hair, before changing into the clothes Austin provided me with. Surprisingly, they weren't too bad a fit, it was just like having a normal oversized hoodie with slightly baggy sweatpants and a t-shirt.

I walk back out into the living area and see Austin already there, with almost no traces of flour left visible. He hands me a small bag to put my clothes into and we leave it on one of the couches before walking back into the kitchen and quickly cleaning the flour from the floor and work surfaces.

We then finish the cookie mix with some chocolate chips and mix, before scooping the mix onto a backing tray in small individual circles.

When they're in the oven we go back into the living room and start arguing about what movie to watch. We agree on avoiding the typical Christmas movies for a change, but from there we can't agree.

Eventually, after much playful arguing and mock-stern glances, we decide on a movie called Begin Again with Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo. We get the movie ready but pause it at the start whilst we go to make hot chocolate.

Thankfully we manage it without getting into another food fight, working well in a mini hot chocolate production line, resulting in two, if we do say so ourselves, _perfect_ cups of hot chocolate.

We walk back out into the living area and set down our mugs on the coffee table, before going and closing the curtains to make the room darker, like a movie theatre. We return to the couch and sit down next to each other but not too close.

The movie begins. It's about an aspiring British musician who travels with her boyfriend to New York to help his career, only to be left by him and forced to try and make it on her own with the help of a down-and-out record label producer. A few minutes in, Austin speaks up. "You know, I used to dream about moving to New York to become a musician."

I look up at him. "Really? I didn't know you were into music!"

He grins. "Yeah, I've always loved music since I was a little kid." He replies nostalgically. "I always wanted to become a rock star when I grew up. I learnt to play pretty much every instrument you can imagine, I was ready to make it a living."

"What changed?" I ask quietly.

He looks down at me with a sad smile. "My parents couldn't afford to send me to a good music school. I began to think more realistically about everything and realised that I could never just leave everything here behind and move thousands of miles away when there was such a high risk it wouldn't work out." He explains. "I've never lost my passion for music. I'll always love it. But I've realised that my family and my life here is more important to me, and I'm happy with that." He finished with a smile.

"Wow, that's really mature of you." I say. "I think that was a really wise decision for you to make. And hey, you never know what might happen."

"Exactly." He replies with a smile. "What about you? I'm guessing you like music."

"Yeah, I'm a bit like you in that I always loved music since I was small. My Dad owns a music store in Miami, Sonic Boom, and I help him run it. I practically grew up in that store, so naturally I learned to play a lot of instruments too. I love it. I've never really been into the whole performance side of music, though, I kind of have stage fright." I explain. "But I just love making music for me, that I can enjoy. That's all that really matters to me." I finish.

"That's great, Als. I love performing though. Just something about making people happy when they hear me play just gives me this amazing feeling. Especially if it's something I've written, but I'm not really the best at writing my own songs." He says.

"But you have written some before?" I ask.

"Uh, yeah, a couple." He replies.

"Would you, uh, would you play one for me?" I ask timidly.

He smiles. "Sure." He says with a small chuckle. "I'll just go grab my guitar."

He stands up and pauses the movie (which we've both completely lost interest in anyway) and walks off towards his bedroom, meanwhile I have some of my hot chocolate.

He returns shortly after, acoustic guitar in hand, and sits back next to me.

"Ready?" He asks, and I nod, before he begins to play.

The song is _amazing_. No other word can describe it. It's fresh and original and beautiful, and his _voice_ , oh my _God_ his voice. It's just unreal. He is _insanely_ talented. Is it possible for him to get any more attractive right now?

When he finishes playing I clap and cheer loudly, and he chuckles at my standing ovation before standing up and hugging me. "Thanks Als." He says in my ear.

"No problem!" I reply. "You're really amazing."

We pull back… well, our heads do at least. I keep my arms around his neck and he keeps his wrapped securely round my waist.

I'm lost in his eyes again, as I have been so many times before, and I swear they get more perfect each time. I slowly see him leaning in again. I wait for that tiny voice in my head telling me that maybe I'm not over Dallas yet… but it never comes. Instead is another voice saying "Oh screw it. Just go for it!" And I decide to listen to that voice and start to lean in too.

That's when the timer starts ringing like crazy – our cookies were done.

Way to kill a mood.

It completely snaps us out of our trance and we jump apart as if we'd burnt each other, mutually blushing like mad and looking at the floor. "Let's, uh, let's get our cookies." I say, before quickly turning and walking towards the kitchen.

I walk in and he follows behind me, and I open the oven door slightly to check the cookies are baked. When I decide they are, I turn the oven off and open the door fully, grabbing some oven gloves and removing the tray and placing it on the counter.

I see Austin smiling like a little kid, clearly eager to get at them which makes me laugh. "Okay, let's go and watch the movie whilst we wait for these to cool." I say and he nods, and we walk back into the living room.

We sit back down on the couch – slightly closer together this time – and restart the movie. We both seem to forget about our cookies, getting lost in the movie's plot and music (which is beautiful). Throughout the film, though, we seem to find ourselves edging closer together and at some point my head finds itself resting on his chest, my left arm wrapped around his torso as his wraps itself around my body. I'm not uncomfortable, let's put it that way.

The movie reaches its emotional climax, with one character trying to win another back (I won't spoil it for you) and we find ourselves looking into each other's eyes again. This situation is becoming all too familiar. We both subconsciously start to lean in, but I find myself stopping and I don't know why. My brain has decided I want this, but my body has stopped.

We stay a few inches apart for a couple of minutes, in complete silence, arms still wrapped around each other, until I feel something gently brushing the top of my head, and I think Austin does too as his face scrunches into confusion and he looks up, and I do the same… to see a piece of mistletoe hovering just above our heads.

Held by a hand, attached to an arm which I follow to find it belonging to Mimi. "Mom?" Austin asks. "What are you doing here? How did you get in? We've been snowed in all day."

Mimi laughs. "Luckily your father keeps a shovel in the trunk of his car." She explains. "But enough about that! Look, you're under mistletoe!"

We look back at each other and smile. "It is considered bad luck to break the tradition." I say.

He nods. "That it is." Our eyes lock again and it feels like everything darkens around us. "Third time lucky, huh?" Austin says with a chuckle as we start to lean in.

I just giggle, before he leans forward to completely close the gap between us.

Best kiss of my life.

. . . . .

 **That is it ladies and gentlemen! Away For Christmas is finished!**

 **Now, I am not completely closed to the idea of writing a sequel, as I do have some ideas for what could happen, BUT I NEED TO KNOW THAT YOU GUYS WANT THAT TO HAPPEN! SO REVIEW!**

 **I just want to say thank you** _ **so much**_ **to everyone for supporting this story, I've really enjoyed writing it, especially the last couple of chapters!**

 **Without your follows, favourites and reviews I would have no motivation or encouragement to keep writing, so thank you for making me want to do this.**

 **Why not visit my profile and check out some of my other stories?**

 **REMEMBER TO KEEP REVIEWING AND TELL ME IF YOU WANT A SEQUEL!**

 **Catch you later!**


	9. AN

**A/N**

 **Wow, I cannot believe it's already been a year since I wrote this story! Yes, this is me shamelessly self-promoing an old story in the hopes that more people will read it. But hey. It's Christmassy. I'm proud of it. Don't judge.**

 **So I said at the time I would consider doing a sequel, and although I currently have quite a few stories on the go, I am open to any and all suggestions for plots, characters etc., so feel free to leave them in a review or a DM, I always read and respond if I can!**

 **I hope you all have an absolutely amazing Christmas and a very happy new year. Here's to 2018!**

 **Catch you later :)**


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